Vertical conveyors for the vertical conveying of individual products are used to overcome height differences between two levels within a continuous handling system. Distinction is made here between C-shaped fixed tray conveyors and S-shaped fixed tray conveyors. While S-shaped fixed tray conveyors have circulating drives that are guided via deflecting rollers in an S-shaped pattern when viewed in the side view, C-shaped fixed tray conveyors are guided essentially in a C-shaped pattern when viewed in the side view. The products being conveyed are introduced and removed at the top and bottom horizontally on different sides in the case of the S-shaped fixed tray conveyor, and on the same side in the case of the C-shaped fixed tray conveyor. C-shaped fixed tray conveyors are often located at a longitudinal end of two horizontal conveyors, which are arranged one on top of another and between which products are conveyed.
C-shaped fixed tray conveyors have drawbacks compared with S-shaped fixed tray conveyors. Thus, especially the platforms cross the area in which the containers in which the products being conveyed are arranged are removed. As a result, the distance between the carrying platforms and the S-shaped fixed tray conveyor must be increased by the length of one platform compared with the S-shaped fixed tray conveyor. Nevertheless, C-shaped fixed tray conveyors are used for design reasons.
A prior-art C-shaped fixed tray conveyor mentioned in the introduction has the drawback that the broad connections of the carrying platforms collide with the horizontally traveling chains in the head part unless complicated design countermeasures are taken to prevent the collision. Such measures are the use of so-called rubber chains, which are cut out in the area of possible collision. Furthermore, cut-out or arc-shaped chain links are used at the sites of the collision area (so-called dog bone links) in the case of the use of link chains as circulating drives. As a result, prefinishing of the chain is necessary, and the chain can be used in a nonflexible manner. The entire carrying platform moves slightly downward in the head part. This results in a needlessly high head part, which increases the minimum height difference.